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Home Forward (Housing Authority of Portland)

Official application routes, service-area details, contact information, and HUD-reported program data for this Portland housing agency.

Independent directory: CalculateBenefits is not Home Forward or HUD. Recorded source-check date for the agency-specific details below: 2026-11-02.

Is the Portland Section 8 waiting list open?

As of Nov. 2, 2026, Home Forward's website said the list was closed.

Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8)

Closed

What the agency's site said on Nov. 2, 2026. See the notice →

Public housing

Closed

What the agency's site said on Nov. 2, 2026. See the notice →

Waiting lists open and close without much notice. Applying is free; only Home Forward can take an application or tell you your place on a list.

Start with the official agency

Visit the official Home Forward website →

Housing applications and waiting-list registration are free. A third party cannot guarantee approval or move you ahead on a waiting list.

What this agency serves

Home Forward is the housing authority serving Multnomah County, Oregon, including Portland.

Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8)
Project-based apartment communities
Public housing
Other rental assistance

Housing Choice Voucher application

Home Forward takes waitlist applications online only during set application periods. Every qualified application goes into a random lottery, so it is not first-come, first-served. People picked in the lottery are placed on the waitlist.

What Home Forward said when we checked on November 2, 2026. Waiting lists open and close; check Home Forward's official site or call for the current status.

Check Home Forward's waitlist page →

Public housing application

Home Forward runs the waitlists for the communities it manages from one central place. It takes applications for a few properties at a time, when the expected wait is under a year. For other Home Forward communities, contact the leasing office directly.

What Home Forward said when we checked on November 2, 2026. Waiting lists open and close; check Home Forward's official site or call for the current status.

Check Home Forward's apartment community waitlists →

Income limits for Multnomah County

HUD fiscal year 2026 limits (pulled July 27, 2026) for Multnomah County, where Home Forward's main office is.

Household	30% (extremely low)	50% (very low)	80% (low)
1 person	$26,950	$44,950	$71,900
2 people	$30,800	$51,350	$82,150
3 people	$34,650	$57,750	$92,400
4 people	$38,500	$64,150	$102,650

Section 8 vouchers generally use the 50% limit, and agencies must give most new vouchers to families at or below 30%; families up to 50% can still qualify. The 80% limit applies to public housing. Limits differ by county; use the income-limit checker for the county you live in.

Source: HUD income limits. Check 5 to 8 people or another county →

Other help in Portland

Heat and utility bills
Multnomah County Human Services — Energy Assistance · (503) 988-3691
Multnomah County's energy assistance program makes one-time yearly payments on energy bills for income-eligible households to help prevent shutoffs. It also offers free home weatherization.
Checked Nov. 2, 2026.
Food
Oregon Food Bank
Oregon Food Bank's network of food banks and pantries gives out free food. Use its Find Food search to find a site near you.
Checked Nov. 2, 2026.
Facing eviction
Legal Aid Services of Oregon — Portland Regional Office · (503) 224-4086
Free legal help for low-income people in Multnomah County, including housing law for tenants. Intake is by phone only. If you have court eviction papers, LASO points tenants to the Eviction Defense Project.
Checked Nov. 2, 2026.
Everything else
211info · 211
Dial 211 or 866-698-6155 to find local help with housing, utilities, food and more. Language interpreters are available.
Checked Nov. 2, 2026.

These are separate organizations, not Home Forward and not CalculateBenefits.

Contact Home Forward before you visit

General inquiries: (503) 802-8300
Central office: 135 SW Ash Street, Portland, OR 97204

Published hours: New Market West: virtual business hours Monday – Thursday 8:00AM – 4:00PM; lobby window Tuesday – Thursday 9:00AM – noon and 1:00PM-3:00PM

Home Forward's New Market West office does most business by phone or video. Lobby window hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. On Fridays you need an appointment. For questions about properties Home Forward manages, visit Property Management at Hollywood East, Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. TTY: (503) 802-8554.

Home Forward's website uses Google Translate for Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Arabic and Simplified Chinese. TTY: (503) 802-8554.

From CalculateBenefits, not Home Forward

Waiting-list news by email

Get our free emails. If this agency's main Section 8 waiting list opens and we see it, we email the people who signed up here. Some lists close before we can send. To sign up, you take our free benefits check. You give your name and email and answer a few questions. A phone step is optional. Then you see offers from partners. Your information may be shared with or sold to marketing partners. They may also contact you (how we use it). Signing up does not apply for housing or put you on any waiting list.

Start sign-up

Before and after you apply

To apply, have dates of birth for everyone in your household, plus Social Security numbers or other identification.
Home Forward sends notices by email (from donotreply@homeforward.org), by regular mail, and in your RentCafe account. Log in to RentCafe and choose Waiting List Status to see your application.
Tell Home Forward right away if your contact information or household changes. If mail from Home Forward is returned, your name may be removed from the waitlist.
To qualify, your household must earn under 50% of the Area Median Income, and every adult must agree to a criminal background check.
Being added to a waitlist does not guarantee rental assistance or housing.

Documents Home Forward asks applicants to have ready

Dates of birth for all household members
Social Security numbers or other identification for household members

From Home Forward's published guidance. Ask the agency if you are missing something; do not wait to call.

HUD-reported assistance

12,474HUD-reported voucher units

11,433Voucher units reported in use

299HUD-reported public housing units

274Occupied public housing units

These figures are HUD reporting-data snapshots, not a count of openings. Equal inventory and occupied counts do not prove that no future opening is possible. Waiting-list status comes from Home Forward, not this dataset.

HUD directory dataset retrieved 2026-07-20; record last updated 2026-04-07. Read the data methods and limitations.